


This is about a girl, isn't it?

by MissMarlot



Category: Phineas and Ferb
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Ferb is a good brother and better wingman, Ferb talks way too much in this, Love Confessions, Teenage!Phinbella
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-16
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-01 21:24:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5221325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissMarlot/pseuds/MissMarlot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While I loved 'Act Your Age' as much as the next fan, there is no way I am buying that Phineas manages to hide his "thing" for Isabella from Ferb throughout all of high school. Because there is no way Ferb could have possibly known without him doing something about it, right?</p><p>This AU takes place during Phineas', Ferb's and Isabella's high school years, in a universe in which Phineas can't quite manage to keep his crush on a certain girl from his observant step brother.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Phineas, Ferb and Isabella are probably roughly 16 / 17 in this story. I'm thinking maybe their sophomore or junior year of high school? Phineas still developed a crush and Isabella still gave up on pursuing Phineas once they got to highschool, so a year or two prior to this story.
> 
> Also: Ferb does a lot of talking in this? Sorry if this bothers you! I just couldn't really figure out how to do this while only giving Ferb two or three lines. So, yeah, he talks a lot!

Phineas could not concentrate.

Carving the tiny clay figures for their history project (a miniature set of the Colosseum full of moving figures and mini gladiator fighting action) was supposed to take them only an hour when using the handy machines they built just for the purpose.

It was half an hour later and while Ferb had been keeping up his numbers as expected, Phineas had only had a handful of usable figures to show.

And he needed 25.000.

It wasn’t like he wasn’t trying, he really was trying to do his best, but he got distracted. Lost in thought. He’d feed some clay in the machine and his mind would wander back to third period, when _Dylan_ turned around in his seat and boldly asked Isabella out on a date. And before he knew it, he had accidentally overfed the machine, which promptly spit out five hundred deformed mini figures.

He gave an entirely unamused Ferb a sheepish grin, and mushed the misshapen figurines back together into a big lump he could feed right back onto the machine. This time he made sure to add just the right amount of clay, selected the mold he wanted and pressed down the button. He was supposed to hold it for five seconds. One, two, three - The thing is, Isabella didn’t say no. She didn’t say yes either. It happened in the middle of class, and instead of saying yes or no, she hissed “Seriously, Dylan? Here? You thought _now_ would be a good time to ask me out?” and Dylan just shrugged and said “Sure. So, yes or no?”. But before Isabella could answer, Mrs Martin reprimanded them for not paying attention in class, effectively cutting off the conversation. And then - Ferb slapped his hand away from the button. The machine was kind of _smoking_ and yeah, Phineas had definitely been pressing the button for over five seconds.

Visibly annoyed, Ferb opened the machine, took out charred, brittle, _unusable_ figures Phineas had just created and threw them in the trash. With a stern look, he handed Phineas new clay.

“I know, I know, I’m sorry, it won’t happen again!” Phineas said. Ferb just rolled his eyes and went back to his own work.

Okay, this time he’d do it right. Put the right amount of clay into the machine, select mold, press button down for five seconds. Yay, perfectly made figures. He went to put them on the conveyer belt, when his brain jumped back to Isabella, who after being reprimanded by the teacher for talking in class (unfair, if you asked Phineas, since it was _Dylan_ ’s fault in the first place), she wrote down something on the edge of her notebook, which she then tore out and tossed above Dylan’s head right onto his desk.

“Phineas.”

And since Isabella had been the first person out of the classroom after class ended - Dylan, by the way, calling “Isabella, wait!” and taking off after her - Phineas did not get a chance to ask what she wrote. And then he had not seen her for the rest of the day, which wasn’t that unusual since Wednesdays they shared no more classes after third period and they didn’t even walk home together because of all her extracurricular activities.

“Phineas.”

Which meant that he could not help but imagine all the different things she could have written and the scenarios they could result in. Isabella could have _agreed_ to a date!

“PHINEAS!”

Phineas startled and dropped the figures on the ground, where they shattered into little pieces.

“…oops?” He turned around to find his brother staring at him, one eyebrow raised.

Ferb pointedly looked at the mess on the floor, then towards the trashcan already overflowing with Phineas’ previous mistakes, before finally looking at the quickly diminishing block of clay they bought. With an annoyed sigh, he crossed his arms, leaned against the machine and waited for Phineas to explain himself.

“I keep getting distracted! I’m really sorry, my head is just not in the game today.” Phineas said, rubbing his eyes in frustration.

Ferb motioned for him to go on.

“It’s nothing serious, I’m just- my thoughts are somewhere else today, is all,” he continued hesitantly.

Ferb’s stare was silently urging him to continue, but Phineas had no idea how to explain any further without either outright lying or… risking to reveal his stupid crush on Isabella.

“It doesn’t matter. Let’s just go back to work, we need 50.000 figures total if we want to show how many people fit into the colosseum and-“ He stopped abruptly when he felt Ferb’s hand on his shoulder. Reluctantly, he faced Ferb again.

“You know you can tell me anything. Whatever it is, I’m listening.”

For a second, Phineas imagined it. Telling his brother about his embarrassingly huge crush on the girl from across the street and he just- couldn’t. He could barely even _think_ about it without freaking out, trying to form actual words and sentences seemed impossible.

“Oh my God,” Ferb said, his eyes wide and his stance loosening, “This is about a girl, isn’t it?”

Phineas mouth fell open in shock. For a few moments, they just looked at each other in stunned silence. _How could Ferb possibly know…?_

An affectionate smile came over Ferb’s face. “It’s all over your face, little brother. Come on.” He grabbed Phineas’ arm and led him inside, up to their room. Once there, he pushed Phineas in the direction his bed and went to sit down on his own. Still not entirely with the program, Phineas sat down as well.

“So, tell me about her.”

Phineas opened his mouth, but nothing came out. The seconds ticked by.

“This is not going to be easy. How about you tell me what exactly happened _today_ that bothered you so much?” Ferb asked, not trying very hard to hide his amusement that it was his brother for once, who was lost for words.

This time though, the words basically shot out of Phineas’ mouth without any conscious thought.

“Another guy asked her out today.”

“Ah, I see,” Ferb answered, his tone gentle. “And what did-“

“It was smack in the middle of class too and I have no idea what she answered and it’s been driving me absolutely crazy. Because what if she said yes? I can barely wrap my head around her being with someone else _in theory_ , I don’t think I can handle witnessing it first hand without possibly _dying of heartbreak_.”

Ferb frowned. “Okay, so-“

“And I can’t stop _thinking_ about it! I can’t stop thinking about _her_! She is so beautiful and resourceful and while Dylan is a great guy, don’t get me wrong, he is in no way good enough for her.”

“ _Dylan?_ Isn’t he into-“

“I’m a terrible actor! There is no way I can convincingly pretend to be happy about any of her future relationships! She knows me! She will know I’m jealous. She won’t want to be friends anymore!”

“You can’t possibly be talking about-“

“I have to reign this in. This has to stop right now. This is getting out of hand, right? We’re friends, _best_ friends. That’s great, amazing even. I should stop wanting more than that. I should just forget I ever even entertained these thoughts.”

“Isabella.”

It was as if the name filled him with electrical charge. He jumped up, since he suddenly felt twitchy all over.

“What?” he asked.

Ferb was looking at him, but it was as if he was seeing right through him. Wordlessly, he lifted his hand and pointed out of the window to the house across the street.

Phineas was speechless, but eventually he managed the tiniest of nods.

Ferb _beamed._ “ _That’s bloody fantastic!”_ he shouted and jumped up. “You have to tell her!”

Phineas physically recoiled. “No! Are you crazy? Definitely not!”

Ferb’s smile melted into confusion and he looked at his brother questioningly.

“I just- I can’t. I am _so deep in the friendzone_ there, bro. I am not even sure she recognizes me as _male_ much less a potential romantic prospect. It will just make things weird and awkward and she’s so nice. She would force herself to continue being friends with us, despite feeling super weird about me having _feelings_ for her and just- no. No. I won’t do this to myself and I _definitely_ won’t do this to her.”

Ferb just stared at him blankly. “You have _got_ to be kidding me.”

“Just let it go, bro, okay? Let’s get back to work- Ferb. Ferb, where are we going?”

But Ferb was a man on a mission. He had packed Phineas’ arm in a vice grip and bodily dragged him down the stairs and out the front door.

“No!” Phineas said, recognizing their destination. “Ferb, don’t do this!” He started struggling in earnest, but Ferb was so dang strong. He never wanted to curse his brother’s awesomeness before, but now he came very close.

Despite Phineas doing his very best to pull them back towards their own house, they marched across the street and straight into Isabella’s backyard.

The girl in question was doing homework at the picnic table on her patio, when she noticed them coming in. She put her pen down and smiled. “Hey, guys! Whatcha do-“

“DON’T LISTEN TO FERB!” Phineas interrupted, struggling more than ever before to get out of the situation.

“What?” Isabella said with a laugh and got up. She walked right over to them, all the while Phineas babbled on about Ferb having fever dreams and hallucinations and that he was making up ludicrous stories that held absolutely no truth whatsoever.

“Okay, what’s going on with you two?” She asked.

Finally, Ferb let him go. But before Phineas could make a run for it, Ferb said the craziest thing yet:

“So, here is an interesting factoid: Isabella has been madly in love with you for years.” He motioned between the two of them. “Discuss.” Then he turned around and left the two of them alone.

Just _left_ , as if he hadn’t just dropped the bomb of the century.

Jaw dropped, Phineas turned to Isabella, who was looking at him with such absolute terror that he immediately knew that Ferb had not been kidding.

“Oh God, this is a nightmare,” she breathed voicelessly. Phineas not so much heard it as saw her mouth the words.

In that moment, what Ferb said finally registered in his brain.

“No…” Phineas said very slowly, still processing, “…no, it isn’t.”

Isabella was _in love with him_.

And he was in love _with her._

They were _in love with each other._

He gasped at the realization. Isabella still looked absolutely horrified, but he was too elated to take note of that.

He grabbed Isabella by the shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes. “No, it really, really isn’t!! Isabella, don’t you get it? This is the best thing that has ever happened! We’re _in love with each other_!” He whooped loudly, and pulled her into a crushing hug that literally swept her off her feet.

She let him hug her for a few moments, before pushing him away, but only far enough so she could look at his face. She still looked shell shocked.

“I need you to repeat that, because I don’t think I heard you right.”

He laughed. “I am so, so, _so_ in love with you, I’ve been going crazy with it for _months.”_

“OH MY GOD!” Isabella squealed. Then she literally jumped him, flinging her arms around his neck. Since he hadn’t been prepared for _quite_ that much enthusiasm, he lost his balance and the two of them tumbled to the ground, her on top of him.

“Are you okay? I am so sorry! Did I hurt you?” Isabella asked, about to climb off him, but he quickly pulled her back down.

“Trust me, I’ve never been better,” he answered with a smirk. She blushed and returned his smile.

“Me neither,” she replied. She bit her lip. “I am going to kiss you now,” she continued, her voice sounding more confident than her expression betrayed her to be.

Phineas took a sharp intake of breath, his heart pounding a mile in a minute in his chest.

“Okay,” he whispered, lifting his head and tilting his chin. He knew he was supposed to be closing his eyes there somewhere (that’s what they do in movies, right?), but he didn’t want to miss a single second of Isabella licking her lips and _slowly_ lowering her face down to his. Her eyes were switching back and forth between holding his gaze and looking at his lips. She gave him the tiniest smile, and that’s it. He was about to give her a little tug to pick up the pace a bit, because even a second without her lips on his felt like a year at this point, when his brain made another connection.

He sat up suddenly, Isabella jerking back in the process to avoid being smacked in the face.

“You’ve been in love with me _for years?”_ he repeated Ferb’s words, this time the full implication settling in.

“Yeah, I- you really didn’t know? I thought I was being _so_ obvious,” Isabella answered.

“How many years are we talking? Like, pre-highschool years?” he asked because he absolutely had no clue that she was in love with him at all. Since freshman year he had been watching for even the tiniest of signs that she liked him back, _he would have noticed for sure._

“Geez, you really had no idea. I’m talking _actual_ preschool years here, Phineas. It’s been, like, over a decade at this point,” Isabella said, rolling her eyes.

That completely floored him.

“ _What_? I just- no way. _That long_? Why didn’t you - you never said a word!”

Now Isabella looked annoyed. “Seriously? _Everyone_ knew, Phineas! I was not subtle. Pretty much the only thing I didn’t do was outright come out and confess and with you being a big, _oblivious_ goober, there was no way that was going to end well for me. I mean, God, remember _Paris_? Remember when I made that little garland with your face and _hearts_? Remember that Halloween where I dressed up as Cinderella and was _constantly_ losing my shoes in front of you? Remember Candace’s seventeenth birthday party when I-“

“Okay, I get the picture, I’m an idiot, please stop.” Phineas finally interrupted, hiding his bright red face in his hands.

“Why are _you_ embarrassed?” she asked, amusement coloring her tone, “I’m the one who behaved like a lovesick fool.”

“No!” he immediately protested, lowering his hands from his face so that he could hold her hands, “No, you were being _brave_. It’s cute. I’m sorry I never noticed.”

She smiled and pulled one of her hands out of his, so he stroke his cheek.

“It’s okay. I’m actually kind of relieved that you really just never noticed and that you weren’t painfully aware and just…“ she faltered for a second and broke eye contact with him, “just ignoring it or something. I mean, I started feeling really stupid there eventually. Like, what if it was _me_ who wasn’t taking the hint that you simply weren’t interested? It’s why I sorta gave up once we got to high school,” she confessed, looking heartbroken at the thought.

“That’s funny, because I think that's when I started to have a thing for you,” He tilted her chin up, so he could look into her eyes again, “Trust me, if you had continued dropping hints, I would have noticed. Forget about hints, I would have jumped at even the smallest opening. You can’t even imagine the crazy lengths I’ve been prepared to go - if you had dressed up as Cinderella _last_ Halloween and even just accidentally lost a shoe, I would have turned Danville upside down _in its entirety_ to find it and be your Prince Charming.”

Finally, the sadness in her eyes lifted somewhat and she bit her lip to hold in a giggle.

“And if you even dropped the smallest of hints that you lost it on purpose for _me_ to find, I don’t even know what I would do. Something extreme probably, like build an army of Phinbots to look for it, while simultaneously putting every other teenage male in the vicinity to sleep so that none of them could find it before I did. Or kidnap you right then and there to make you an actual pair of glass slippers or something.”

Isabella was now laughing outright. “I definitely would not have complained about free Phineas-and-Ferb-brand footwear,” she joked, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close.

“Say the word and you’ll have a custom pair by dinnertime,” he answered, heart pounding as he put his hands on her hips.

“Mmm, I think a kiss will do for now.”

He did not need to be told twice. Before they could get distracted again ( _what did she mean when she said “everyone knew”???_ ), he put a hand on her face, pulled her close and kissed her.

It was a long, slow kiss filled with longing and sweet affection, that spread thick liquid warmth all the way down to his toes. Her fingers were gently dancing along his sides, making his skin buzz and his head spin. He never wanted it to end.

He reluctantly pulled away when he remembered something important, but couldn’t help but brush his lips against her once, twice more before pulling away entirely.

“Hm?” Isabella opened her eyes slowly. The dazed look on her face filled Phineas’ with more pride than he would ever admit to anyone.

“I just thought of something. You’re not going to go out with Dylan, right?” he asked.

“Of course not. Why would- oh right, the thing in English class. I turned him down, _obviously._ He wasn’t even surprised. It’s not like he doesn’t know that I have feelings for you,” she waved off casually, before leaning in to kiss him again, but he needed to get clarification on what she said first.

“Wait, wait, how would Dylan- and if he knew why would he-“

Isabella just shook her head, laughing. “I told you, _everyone_ knows how I feel about you. Everyone.”

“Everyone? I mean, I’m kind of offended that _Ferb_ knew and never told me, but…did Buford? Baljeet?”

“Yes and yes.”

“And I’m guessing the Fireside Girls, too?”

She took his hand and started tracing the lines of it with her index finger. “We haven’t been Fireside Girls in a while, but sure, they all know.”

His entire arm was tingling, but there was no way he was going to ask her to stop. “Who else?”

Isabella laughed. “Everyone you can think off, Phin.”

“Candace?”

“Yep.”

“Your mom?”

“Yes!”

“Oh my God, MY mom?”

“Oh yeah, she knew for sure.”

“I must have looked like such a dip in front of everyone!” he complained.

“Aww,” she cooed, climbing in his lap to hug him, “No, don’t be embarrassed. You were just a little oblivious, a lot of boys are! Your head is always in the clouds. It’s what allows you to be this amazing, creative, positive person I fell in love with. And don’t you dare bash the boy I’m in love with, I kinda like him just the way he is.”

Phineas blushed heavily. This was too much. He was going to explode in a billion tiny pieces. “I like you just the way you are, too.”

“I’m glad,” she said. They were about to kiss again, when he remembered something REALLY important.

“Wait, again, sorry, just one more thing-“

Isabella groaned. “Seriously? Is this going to be a thing where I try to kiss you and you stop me? Because I’m not a fan.”

He had to laugh at that. “It won’t be a thing, I promise. But just real quick - Isabella, will you be my girlfriend?”

She gasped. “Of course! I thought that one was a given with the whole declaration of love and all.”

He shrugged sheepishly. “I have never done this before! I just wanted to make sure there were no misunderstandings.”

“How very sensible of you,” she mock-praised him, patting him on the cheek. He had no idea why he even found her irresistibly adorable when she was mocking him, “So, has every matter been discussed? We’re officially boyfriend and girlfriend?” she asked.

“Oh, I don’t know,” he teased, “I’m sure I can find another thing to talk about, like, um-“

Isabella’s bell-like laugh interrupted him. “Shut up, Phineas!” Then she grabbed him and pulled  him in for a sweet, lingering kiss.

It took Phineas a long time before he came back to finish their history project.

Ferb could barely suppress a smirk when his brother sauntered back into their garage with the biggest grin on his face.

“Oh, shut up, you,” Phineas said when he saw his brother’s knowing smirk, but the big, happy smile on his face negated his words somewhat.

“For the record,” Ferb announced, “I’m taking all the credit for this.”


	2. About Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath! Linda invites everyone over to dinner and it turns out that everything is different. And the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like the beginning, but then this spirals out of control. This is a mess. Let me know what you think?

Linda had been overjoyed when Phineas told her that he was dating Isabella.

She hadn’t even given him any rules or told him that if she’d only allow him to see her once a week should she notice that he was neglecting school because of her (like she did when Candace and Jeremy started dating). Nope, she jumped straight into happiness and immediately dialed Vivian to celebrate.

Next thing he knew his phone chimed with a text.

It read ‘ _Apparently we’re having dinner at your house tonight’_ with a kiss face emoji. He smiled and immediately put everything down to reply. Since he only returned from Isabella’s backyard not even an hour ago and they were _seriously_ behind on their homework schedule, Ferb threw him a judgmental look.

_‘That sounds great! I was already wondering how I was possibly going to make it through 13 hours of not seeing you <3’_

The reply was immediate _‘You could have made it! I would have sent you pictures so you wouldn’t forget what I look like. ;D But thankfully we don’t have to find out! <3 <3 <3’_

“I take everything back, I am _not_ taking credit for any of this sappy nonsense,” chimed Ferb’s voice suddenly from behind him. Before he knew it, Ferb had snitched the phone straight out of his hand and put it in his pocket.

“Okay, I’ll get back to work, I promise. But could you just quickly write a reply for me that I can’t wait to see her? And that I want those pictures? And a heart? Or three?”

“Absolutely not,” was Ferb’s firm reply. 

“Come on, bro! Please?”

“No!”

Because of Ferb’s merciless, slave driving ways (well, according to Phineas anyway) they did manage to finish their homework in time for dinner. His utter refusal to return Phineas’ phone, also meant that Phineas was half going out of his mind by the time Isabella _finally_ rang the doorbell.

“I’VE GOT IT!” He yelled, ignoring Ferb’s snorting laughter as he rushed to the door and ripped it open.

Isabella, _his girlfriend_ , still had her hand raised in the air from pressing the doorbell and startled at the force with which he had suddenly opened the door. As soon as their gazes looked, the entire world seemed to just come to a stop. It was as if somebody had pressed the mute button on everything that wasn’t the two of them.

“Hi,” he said breathlessly, trying to awkwardly force his body in a casual pose.

She smiled shyly. “Hi.”

Her fingers tugging a strand of hair behind her ear utterly charmed him.

“Hi,” he repeated.

Isabella giggled and bit her lip, before replying. “Hi.”

Suddenly, his mother’s voice broke through their bubble.

“Yes, yes, we get it - hi, hi, hi, hi, that’s very nice. Will you please come in, Vivian? Carlos?”

His mother, who had suddenly appeared behind him, opened the door wider to let Isabella’s parents in, who had been standing right behind Isabella the whole time.

“Oops. Sorry, Mr and Mrs Garcia-Shapiro,” he said.

“Ah, Phineas, it’s fine, no harm done. I remember what it is like to be young and in love,” Vivian said, pinching his cheek as she passed him.

Phineas thanked his lucky star that Vivian had known him for many years and he did not need to put on a show to convince his girlfriend’s mother of the fact that he was a nice guy who could be trusted with her daughter’s heart.

“About time, right, my boy? You think it’s nice to let my little girl hanging for that long?” Isabella’s father asked, gripping Phineas by the shoulder. His tone might have been light, but his grip was definitely not.

Sadly, Phineas’ relationship with Isabella’s father wasn’t as close. He was long-distance airline pilot and often spent days at a time on a flight only to return home for a few days before leaving again. On top of that, the days he does spend at home are often spent sleeping off the long flights and the jet lag, so Phineas barely ever saw him.

“Papi! Leave him alone, will you?” Isabella scolded, removing her father’s hand from his shoulder.

“Yes, cielo, leave the poor boy be. It just took him a while to catch up. Girls are usually faster than boys in these things,” Vivian said, taking her husband’s hand, who bristled a bit at being ganged up on by the two women in his life, but eventually relented.

Isabella and Phineas hung back while the others went to dining room.

“I do feel guilty about making you wait so long, though,” Phineas admitted once they were alone.

“You have nothing to feel guilty for. Don’t get me wrong, I used to be - well, the _teensiest_ bit resentful that I loved you so freaking much and you didn’t even care,” she confessed, wincing a bit at the memory, “but, you know, then I grew up and I realized that you don’t owe me anything, no matter how much I wanted you to love me back and how upset it made me that you didn’t. I had to learn to accept it. You are your own person and I don’t have a say. Just because we’re together now, doesn’t mean you are somehow obligated to make up for the time we weren’t.”

Hearing that made Phineas feel even _worse._ What Isabella said made so much sense and he hadn’t been nearly as considerate towards Isabella when he himself had been convinced that his feelings weren’t being reciprocated.

“You are so much better at this being in love thing than me!” he groaned, “I was constantly thinking how unfair it was that you could only ever see me as a friend. And I was always _so_ jealous of the other guys you hung out with and wondering what you needed them for when I was willing and right there.”

He expected Isabella to find his confession off-putting, but instead she just looked fond.

“Phin, I am not better at being in love. I just have a lot more practice. You don’t know how entitled I used to get when it came to you!” She shook her head at herself, “But then I got over myself. And even though you may have felt that way, you never acted on these feelings. You remained a really good, loyal friend to me and you never let your jealousy show at all. That’s what matters.” She leaned up and pressed a quick kiss against his lips. “And I know you. You’re a good guy. You would have gotten yourself, too. Besides. you’re a quick learner, so I am sure you’ll catch up with my love expertise in no time.”

He laughed. “I’ll do my best.”

“But don’t make a competition out of it, because I _will_ crush you. At being in love,” Isabella informed him matter-of-factly, before making her way to the dining room as well.

A thought occurred to Phineas and he quickly followed her. “Hey, yeah, that’s right! If you’ve been in love for me for years, how come you never let me win against you?”

Isabella scoffed. “That is not true. You’ve won that one time at table tennis when we were thirteen.”

“No, I didn’t! We _tied_. And you insisted on continuing the match until one of us won, but then your mom called you for dinner.”

She stopped in her tracks. “Hey, that’s right! Let’s continue that match once we’re done eating.”

“No, no, no. That day I learned that competing _with_ you is way better than competing _against_ you, because you get really competitive and scarily fixated on victory. Plus, you really like to gloat and it hurts my ego,” he said and took his seat at the table, while their families watched on in amusement.

“Aww, how sweet of you to say!” Isabella said, sitting down on the chair opposite his. “But I wasn’t kidding about that table tennis match. You and me. To the death.”

Isabella’s father laughed. “That’s my girl. Don’t let him win anything, honey, I know how boys are. You give them your pinky and they take the whole hand. _Or more._ ” He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

Phineas blushed bright red. “No! Never!”

“Papi! Really? Oh God,” Isabella groaned.

Carlos pointed his fork at Phineas. “Yes, never is good.”

Linda finally came to his rescue. “Carlos, Phineas is a good boy with a responsible head on his shoulders. I don’t think he has ever misbehaved.”

“We did leave the good guest towels in the backyard that one time,” Ferb reminded her.

“Ah yes. Well, besides that one time,” Linda amended. She turned to Phineas and stretched out her arm to put her hand on his arm. “I am so pleased you two are together now. Vivian and I have been planning your wedding for years. The guest list is huge.”

“Oh, wow,” Phineas said, his face neutral. Then his mouth spread into a big grin. “That’s really nice of you!”

“See?” Linda told Lawrence, “I told you he wouldn’t find it weird.”

“He is your son all right,” Lawrence agreed.

“That does remind me: I can’t believe every single person sitting here knew that Isabella liked me and never told me,” Phineas said. “Besides you, Ferb. But you did wait ten years to tell me, so don’t think you’re off the hook.”

Ferb just smirked.

“Phin, don’t be mad at Ferb. I threatened to do terrible things to him should be ever spill the beans,” Isabella said.

As if suddenly reminded, Ferb got up from the table.

“Which I won’t do, because it all turned out well in the end,” she said with a smile.

Ferb sat down again.

“Yes. Yes, it did,” Phineas agreed and reached out to hold Isabella’s hand across the table.

“You two are so cute! Stay right there, I’ll just me get my camera!” Linda said and ran off.

Ferb’s eyes widened. Subtly, he fished out his phone and took a snapshot of the happy couple himself.

Hiding his phone underneath the table, he posted it to his facebook with only the words “Guess what?” attached to the picture.

Suddenly, chaos.

Ferb fumbled with his phone as it vibrated like crazy with new messages. Isabella’s, Phineas’ and their parents’ phones started ringing simultaneously.

When their landline also began to ring, Ferb went to answer it.

He was greeted by incomprehensible screeching and a male voice that could be heard saying “I know, babe, I know, but please calm down” in the background.

Ferb hung up.

“Candace and Jeremy send their congratulations,” he informed them as he sat back down.

“Ferb, what did you do?” Isabella said in horror, as she tried to keep on top of all her girl friends sending emoji-filled text messages simultaneously.

He shrugged.

“Wow, a lot more people are emotionally invested in us getting together than I realized,” Phineas said, as he texted Irving that he really doubted him having Isabella for a girlfriend will ‘ruin everything’.

“Why did Irving just accuse me of brainwashing you with my feminine wiles and ruining the ‘sacred brotherhood’?” Isabella asked.

“I don’t want you using your feminine anythings on Phineas, young lady!” her father reminded her.

“Oh God, Papi, it’s none of your business what I do with my feminine anythings,” she answered.

“It really isn’t,” Vivian agreed.

“I found the camera!” Linda announced, “Oh no, you moved!”

“I’m sorry, Isabella, we just got together today and already everything is a mess,” Phineas said.

“Yeah, it is,” she said, “but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

She leaned over the table to give him a quick peck on the lips.

A sudden flash of a camera made them jump apart.

“Mom!”

“Sorry, sorry, you two are just so _cute_!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I don't know. I actually have another little bit I wrote in this universe in which Phineas freaks out over what to get Isabella for her birthday. If you liked this mess, let me know if you want to read anymore?

**Author's Note:**

> The End!
> 
> Man, I haven't written fic in ages, but I actually have over 17.000 words worth of Phinbella-fanfiction on my computer as we speak, haha. I also technically have a little extra bit written that takes place on the evening of the same day, in which Isabella and her parents go over to the Flynn-Fletcher's for dinner, but I'm not so sure about it? Let me know if you want me to post it!
> 
> By the way, who else finds the official timeline kinda... off? 'Act your Age' was supposed to take place TEN years after the main series, right? But that would make Phineas, Ferb and the gang roughly eight years old? Which means that Vanessa would be eight years older than Ferb and 26 years old by the time Ferb is 18. And I know it's legal and everything, I just don't think that a 26-year-old, beautiful, mature Vanessa would go for a guy who literally just finished high school? But whatever. Besides, in the episode where the gang travels twenty years into the future, future Linda states that "her" Phineas and Ferb were thirty, which would make them ten. In my mind, they will always be ten (and Ferb eleven or almost eleven) in the main series! ;)


End file.
